This C5b6789_n, or membrane attack complex (MAC), puts pores into lipid bilayer membranes of human cells to which antibodies have bound. This results in cell lysis. MAC can also damage the envelope of enveloped viruses and put pores in the outer membrane and cytoplasmic membrane of gram-negative bacteria causing their lysis.

Flash animation illustrating The Membrane Attack Complex (MAC) Causing Cell Lysis .swf by Gary E. Kaiser, Ph.D.
Professor of Microbiology, The Community College of Baltimore County, Catonsville Campus
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Based on a work at http://faculty.ccbcmd.edu/~gkaiser/index.html.

Last updated: August, 2019
Please send comments and inquiries to Dr. Gary Kaiser